Chapter 155

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-- Chapter 155
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borisdrakoni (Spoiler):

Lies or Truth?  Part 1

“...Oji-sama...”

Yue says with a hoarse voice.  Her eyes are opened wide and her hands are trembling slightly.

She doesn't notice Hajime calling out to her, indicating just how deeply she is shaken inside.

Hajime and the others are astonished seeing Yue in that state, while her uncle smiles gently again and calls out to Yue.

“That's right, it's me.  Aretia.  You seem to be surprised.  ...Understandable.  However, such a pretty figure is nostalgic.  You haven't changed in three hundred years.

The smiling Maou.  Yue, seeing her uncle there, takes a step back.  She tries to say something with her trembling lips, but Ahato speaks before she can.

“Alv-sama?”

The  expression on her face is like a Noh mask, but doubt is carried on the intonation of her voice.  Judging from her appearance, the Maou's attitude toward Yue seemed to be unexpected.  Not just the apostle, Freed also seemed slightly doubtful too.

In response to being called out to, the Maou smiles thinly and slowly raises his hand to Ahato and the other appostles.

The next moment, golden magic resembling Yue's explodes like a flash grenade.  For a moment, everything is painted out by the light.  When it disappears, being absorbed back into her uncle's hand, the appearance of the apostles lying on the ground as if their power was cut was seen.

Freed and Eri are also collapsed on the ground.  By the side, Kouki is dumbfounded by this development.  His body stiffened and trembled slightly looking down at Eri.

In front of Yue and the others who are dumbfounded, the Maou lets out his breath and casts some more magic.

To Hajime's magic eye it looks like a golden barrier stretching out like a dome over them, though the usage seems to be different from ordinary barriers.

The Maou explains that it's meant to intercept and deceive outside observers.

Hajime suspiciously asks what he's planning.

The Maou comments that his wariness is plausible, and proceeds to introduce himself without beating around the bush as the current Maou of Garland and former prime minister of the vampire country Avatarl, Deinrid Gardia Wesperitirio Avatarl.  He claims to be someone who rebels against the gods.

His dignified voice resounded in the room.  The people there considered the truth of his words by the strength they carried.
Everyone besides Hajime is shocked.  They never would have considered that the king of the Majin, enemy to humanity, was a rebel against the gods.

Suzu, who finally gets over her stupor, shouts out to Eri and tries to run up to her, but is held back by Kouki.  Eri's pulse is confirmed, making Suzu relieved.  Deinrid apologizes for worrying her.

Incidentally, while the apostles had their functions interrupted, Freed and the others were put in a state of apparent death.

With the Maou's apology coupled with the previous chain of events, Hajime looks around trying to figure out what Deinrid's real intentions are, but as he does Yue's voice unexpectedly calls out, denying that he is her uncle since he was a normal vampire.

Deinrid tries to calm her, saying her reaction is justifiable, but Yue loses her cool, rejecting everything he says and shoots a lightning dragon at him.

Deinrid, with an attitude indicating it's no big deal, raises a barrier in front of him.  The lightning dragon crashes into it, but can't break it.

He calls out Yue's full name (Aretia Gardie Wesperitirio Avatarl), and asks her if she remembers that he was a strong demonic beast user in the past, and says that the current her should understand what that means.

Yue comes to the realization that it was the Age of Gods' Transformation magic.  Deinrid smiled at her the same way as when she would answer correctly during her studies, causing her expression to warp.

He tells her she is correct.  Furthermore, he also acquired Creation magic, although it was wasted on him since he had no talent for it.  His real talent lay in Transformation magic.  By training it, he came to be able to strengthen his own body as well, increasing his longevity.

Hajime, who had casually slipped in a railgun shot under the distraction of the thunder dragon, understood that the barrier wouldn't easily be broken.  He put a hand on Yue's shoulder, conveying that it would only be a waste of power to continue with her current state of mind.  Yue regains herself at the touch and lets the thunder dragon dissipate while the dangerous look in her eyes vanishes.

Still, she roughly points out an apparent contradiction where Freed had said that Alv had led them for hundreds of years, while for more than twenty years before Yue was imprisoned Deinrid had been the prime minister of Avarl.

Deinrid calmly replies that Freed was not wrong.  He is Alv, but also not Alv at the same time.

He goes on to explain that Alv was a subordinate deity who was loyal to Ehito.  However, after centuries of witnessing Ehito's cruelty, Alv started questioning his loyalty to Ehito and began to harbor rebellious feelings.

Deinrid paces around the throne while he explains.  His calm voice, while not loud, seems to resound somehow, although it doesn't feel unpleasant.

His words continue.  Alv, who has no confidence of defeating Ehito alone came up with a plan.  He'll go down to the world on the pretext of carrying out Ehito's will of starting wars and sowing chaos, all the while searching for the war potential that can oppose him.

However, a body is needed to serve as a container for a god in order to act in the world.  It isn't easy even for a god to possess someone if they are strongly rejected, but if their existence as a god is shown no one refuses.  Since the original person does not disappear it is considered an honor.  Deinrid who knew the truth was chosen to be Alv's vessel, and coming to an understanding with him, they became allies against Ehito.

Yue with a difficult face asks him when this happened.

He responds that it was shortly before she took the throne.  To him who knew the truth but couldn't do anything about it, he came to think that it was his mission to overthrow Ehito.

Yue is wavering as memories of the past are stirring and overlapping with the present due to his behavior, and begins to think that he might be who he says he is.  She asks him why he betrayed the country and her.  Deinrid apologizes sadly, but Yue shouts that she doesn't want an apology, but the reason.  Hajime puts a hand to her shoulder again to calm her, while the others watch Deinrid eagerly.

Deinrid explains that her genius for magic was such that even he, a user of Age of Gods magic, couldn't match up to her.  Her strength stood out to much, and like Hajime, she came to be regarded as an irregularity.

Because she been raised almost entirely without faith, she wouldn't move as the gods wished, therefore the assassination attempt was carried out.  Even with Age of Gods magic Deinrid didn't have confidence that he could protect her from them completely and because he had awakened to his mission by joining forces with Alv he couldn't afford to lose her, therefore he had faked her death and hidden her away until the time came to finally rebel.

This seemed to match up with Yue's memories, causing her to waver further.  With unstable feelings, she asks him why he took hostages.

Smiling wryly at the criticism, Deinrid snaps his fingers and the cages open, stunning the people inside.  He says he didn't think they could meet if he used any other methods, and that it was also for their own protection should anything happen.  He apologizes for hurting some of them, and that he couldn't heal them while under the apostles' eyes, but at least they were instructed not to kill anyone.

Yue seems to have already lost most of her resistance while her mind is shaking further.  Shia and the others are watching Yue in perplexity over what's happened.  Deinrid smiles while looking at Yue and starts to walk toward her from the altar.

**Note**  This next bit doesn't summarize well, so please excuse a rough translation here.  General disclaimers apply.

“Aretia.  I want you to believe me.  I, both then and now, have always loved you.  To see you again, do you know how long I've waited?  These three hundred years, there was not one day in which you were forgotten.”

“...Oji-sama...”

“That's right.  I am your Dein-ojisama.  My lovely Aretia.  The time has come.  Please, lend me your power.  For the sake of ending everything.”

“....Lend you my power?”

“Let's overthrow the gods together.  We fought against a foreign enemy back to back before.  Ehito is already trying to end this age.  I was really going to conceal you until the time you should fight, but we are lucky.  You have become much stronger than you were and are a user of all of the Age of Gods magics.  Surely you will reach Ehito.”

“...I am...”

Yue shakes at Deinrid's words.  Deinrid stretches out his arms to wrap up such a Yue.

The appearance again awakens memories of her childhood in her mind.  When young Yue obtained good results studying magic, “Din-ojisama”, with a smile greater than Yue who achieved it, would stretch out his arms without fail.  To Yue who clung to him, “You did well,” her head was patted while he praised her.

He was alive, and the embrace of her important family who didn't betray her existed.  Rather than the real father, this was the father she yearned for.  Yue's pupils shook.

Seeing that, Deinrid's smile deepens more and more and he tried to spin words to receive Yue.

“Now, let's go together.  Areti-”

In that moment.

Dopan!!

That dry sound they were used to hearing resounded.  At the same time, Deinrid fell back.

Everyone could not understand what they saw, watching Deinrid whose eyes became points fall.  He doesn't move with a twitch.  Silence fills the audience chamber.

Meanwhile, the sound of a hammer clicking breaks the silence.  With a shake, the people there turn their glance to the source of the sound.

The sight partly expected was there.

That is...

“Trash. (note, ????, possible Xanxus from Katekyo Hitman Reborn reference?)  Shall I turn you into minced meat?”

The appearance of Hajime floating a large amount of veins while spitting out abuse is seen while white smoke is drifting up from Donner.

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